Tuesday, May 26, 2015

How do you feel
about UFOs? Personally, I am a skeptic about them being spacecraft from alien
worlds, but I love researching them and hearing the wild stories told about the
most unusual “incidents.” UFOs: Myths,
Conspiracies and Realities by John B. Alexander, Ph.D. is a no-nonsense
look at unidentified flying objects by a scientist who claims to have no ax to
grind either way.

Alexander, a former military man, researches U.S. government
UFO programs and presents an excellent case that:

- There are unidentified
objects flying in earth airspace.

- These objects complete maneuvers,
accelerate, and reach speeds that are not possible with current world
technology.

- The United States has no authority in charge of studying,
recovering or combating these objects.

- There (and this is the big one) is no
evidence that the United States has captured or obtained an alien spacecraft or
alien body, nor have they reverse-engineered such a craft from alien
technology.

- There is no general cover up of UFO information by the U.S.
government. In fact, most government UFO files are available online due to the
FIA (Freedom of Information Act).

Alexander
presents his case factually and logically. In fact, not only is there no cover
up, but funding any group to study UFOs would be a political hot potato that no
Congressman wants to touch. People in your district can’t get a job, but you’re
the Senator who wants to appropriate millions to study LGMs (Little Green Men)?
Not likely, according to Alexander.

I’d love to think there is a crashed alien
spacecraft in Hangar 18 somewhere, with frozen alien bodies offering up their
secrets of life on another planet. Or perhaps they are living among us, eating
too many moon pies and fighting their secret interstellar wars. Such
speculation suffers from a distinct lack of evidence.

Alexander concludes from
many credible sources that there are strange, unidentified objects in our
atmosphere. But these “objects” are
simply unidentified, not necessarily from outer space or other worlds. Are they
alien? From another dimension? Angels? Something unthought-of? I’ve gone from a
flat skeptic to the belief that something is up there. But the authorities are as
confused as we are. The book is chock full of thought-provoking questions and
makes its case well.

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Empire: Uprising #1 – A supervillain with all the trappings;
cruel, bloody and evil, has taken over the world. And everyone must bow down to
him. This miniseries continues the original Empire series from writer Mark Waid and artist Barry Kitson. Waid
brings his characteristic wit and superior storytelling to the book and Kitson
is a terrific artist. Together they continue exploring the world dominated by
one of the worst superpowered bad guys. Kind of like modern America. Kidding!

World
dictator Golgoth continues to consolidate his reign of terror. He starves South
Africa until they submit. When they do, he brings in food for the starving
populace. People can eat their fill, as soon as they sign their loyalty
pledges. Meanwhile, the underground resistance attacks Golgoth’s palace wearing
masks of the villain’s dead daughter. Golgoth teleports back just in time and
things get bloody. What he does not know is that he has high officials in his
own administration who are plotting against him—but is their ultimate goal to give
people back their freedom, or just become worse dictators?

Waid grabs the
reader’s attention by the throat, as usual, and won’t let go. I anticipate a
lot of carnage before he’s through, and I’ll be there for every bit.

Rating:
**** out of 5 stars

Convergence: Shazam! #1

Convergence: Shazam! #1 – There is every reason not to buy
a Convergence book. It’s a cheap and creatively bankrupt way for DC to flood
comic shops with meaningless paper while they move their offices from New York to
the West Coast. Plus, it contains elements of the New 52, the bane of all
coherent storytelling. However, Evan Shaner might be the finest comic book
artist working today. So there’s that.

Jeff Parker does a good job with the
plot, even working within Convergence’s dumbed down parameters. He even manages
to avoid pointing out that DC moronically changed Captain Marvel’s name to
Shazam, one of their most ignorant corporate moves. I have to admit it is fun
to see the classic cast; the entire Marvel family, Uncle Dudley, Sivana and even
Talky Tawny. I’ve mostly sworn off DC comics, but I would consider buying a
monthly Captain Marvel book by this creative team. Regardless, it’s great to
see Captain Marvel back in action. Even if DC doesn’t know his real name.

Rating:
***

Art Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

Alex + Ada #14

Alex + Ada #14 – The government has
discovered that human Alex has activated the sentience of his android companion
Ada, a capital crime. On the run and hunted by the authorities, A + A manage to
stay one-step ahead. Now their adventure is almost over, as the police track
them down on the beach to which they’ve fled. As they consider their options,
if any, things take possibly the darkest turn of all. This cliffhanger will
lead to the next, and last, issue of the series. I will be incredibly sorry to
see this book finish. Alex + Ada has
been top-notch science fiction from the first issue, dealing shrewdly with
themes such as humanity, friendship, artificial intelligence and love. I
believe the days of these themes becoming reality are just around the corner.
Let’s hope real world events turn out better than the ones in this book—so far.
One more issue. I can’t wait to see what happens. This book does everything a
good comic should.

Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

Afterlife With Archie #8

Afterlife with Archie #8 – This
comic still has no right to be this good. Who would have ever thought mixing
vicious, flesh-eating zombies with the happy go lucky Riverdale gang would
result in one of the best horror comics of the year? But that’s precisely what
happened. In this issue, Archie has a few beers with the ghost of Jughead (in a
scene inspired by Kubrick’s The Shining),
Archie has heart-to-heart talks with his mother (not mentioning his much-dead
zombie father) and Cheryl Blossom, and folks sing Christmas carols to remind
them life goes on. There is a marriage proposal between two major characters,
if they live long enough to actually get married. I never thought straight up horror
would with mix with the Archieverse ... but it works, mostly thanks to writer
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Francesco Francavilla’s moody and expressive art
doesn’t hurt. An excellent book.

Rating: ****½ out of 5 stars

We Can Never Go Home #2

We Can Never Go
Home #2 – After a spectacular first issue, cool girl Madison, who has glowing
eyes and super strength, and weirdo Duncan, who can kill people with his mind,
go on the run after a horrific event. Problem is, they’re just high school kids
who have no idea what they’re doing. Duncan gets the bright idea to use their
powers to rob a local drug dealer for some road money. In and out fast, no one
gets hurt. That’s ... not quite what happens. Turns out the dealer has an empty
safe, a mountain-sized bodyguard and an armory full of firearms. Violence
ensues, leaving Madison and Dunc in a very vulnerable place. Add a cliffhanger
ending and the result is one thrilling book.

Rating: **** out of 5 stars

Joe Frankenstein #3

Joe
Frankenstein #3 – Dixon and Nolan keep the quality high in this continuing tale
of Frankenstein’s monster revealing himself to and protecting a Frankenstein descendant—a
guy named Joe. All sorts of ghoulies are after Joe for some reason; so many the
monster can barely fight them off. The deceased-looking villain Golgatha is
particularly powerful and Frankie falls into their hands. Joe gets away, but
how long can he stay on the run? The leader behind the entire plot is revealed
to be ... well, I won’t spoil the wonderful surprise. Let’s just say she has
two white streaks in her hair and a big streak of evil ... right through her heart.

Kudos
to writer Dixon and artist Nolan for a vastly superior, high concept horror
adventure comic!

Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

Birthright #7

Birthright #7 – There really are
some fantastic adventure comics out right now, and Birthright is at the top of the list. Mikey, the kid who grew up in
the fantasy dimension Terrenos and learned how to fight monsters, is hiding out
in the woods with his older (now physically younger) brother Brennan. Mikey
says they are seeking magical weapons to slay monsters who have bled over from
Terrenos, but his story is a little fishy ... Everyone from the local hunters
to the sexy female Trading Post owner suspect them of being the people stealing
food from campsites in the area (mostly because they are). Mikey and Brennan
break into the Trading Post to steal the magical knives about which the pretty
owner has no idea. When she shows up in the middle of the theft, things go
horribly wrong.

A sub-plot deals with a winged fairy from Terrenos coming to
Earth in search of Mikey. She just happens to pissed, pregnant and looking to
lay a beating on Mikey for deserting her. There’s a lot going on in this book,
which is full of fresh and mad fantasy ideas. I love it.

Rating: ***** out of 5
stars

Darth Vader #5

Darth Vader #5 – What is so surprising about Marvel’s various Star Wars books is that they are
actually good. That was unexpected. Salvador Larroca is an artist with a long
string of brilliant work, but writer Kieron Gillen is not someone whose work I
usually enjoy. He’s doing a great job here, as Vader is using a suicidal, geeky
IT grrrrrl to help him track down some enhanced mercenaries who are rivals for
the Emperor’s affection. Unfortunately, they find them. Vader is doing this
behind the Emperor’s back, and stuff hits the fan as these mercenaries
challenge Vader as the Emperor, their invited guest, looks on. Expect an epic battle
next issue, along with Vader probably being spanked by the Emperor for his impertinence.
There’s something you don’t see every day. It is fun to read original and
creative Star Wars tales again. I’m
not sure I’ve experienced one since The
Empire Strikes Back.

Sunday, May 17, 2015

One
thing about Wonder Woman creator and writer William Moulton Marston; the man
was a freak. A well-educated Ph.D., Marston was the inventor of an early
version of the lie detector and pushed many crackpot theories over the course
of his life. This book is the story of his education, non-traditional family
life and the creation of Wonder Woman. Writer Jill Lepore is a History
professor at Harvard and a staff writer for the New York Times. Despite that, her research seems true and well
reasoned. Kidding! Lepore was given unprecedented access to Marston’s files and
letters, and what emerges is a rounded portrait of the man, his life and his
greatest creation.

William Moulton Marston

Curious and intelligent, Marston was involved in the
beginnings of the feminist movement early in his life. He thought the world
would be better if run by women, and looked at women as full equals in every
way. He married his high school sweetheart, Sadie Holloway, and they took turns
going to college. Marston wound up with a Ph.D., Holloway a Masters Degree. Marston
never held a job more than a year or two (except as a comic book writer,
strangely). He worked for various colleges as a lecturer, wrote articles for major magazines
and even spent time as a staff psychologist for a Hollywood movie studio. This
is where it gets weird. As a young professor lecturing to college students, Marston
met and fell in love with the boyish Olive Byrne, one of his students. Byrne
was the niece of suffrage and family planning activist Margaret Sanger, who was
destined to become quite close to the Marston family. Marston arrived home one
day and told his wife Sadie that Olive was joining their family as his “other”
wife, or he would just leave her and shack up with Olive anyway. Astoundingly,
Sadie accepted this arrangement. Awkward at first, the women actually became
close friends who lived together until they died many decades later.

Wonder Woman in Chains

Writing as "Charles Marston," Marston put all of his
progressive and unusual (for the time) feminist ideas into Wonder Woman, the
first successful female superhero. Wonder Woman was an instant hit, spawning
several titles of her own (Wonder Woman
and Sensation Comics, which she
headlined) and a newspaper comic strip, which Marston wrote for years. Under Marston’s
tenure, Wonder Woman was controversial for his use of bondage imagery. Every
issue, Wonder Woman was bound; chains, ropes, handcuffs, complex bondage knots.
DC editors would tell him to lay off; he would outright refuse and double up. Lepore
points out that Marston had a goal other than titillation. Wonder Woman was
never tortured or trapped by chains; she always escaped or threw them off.
Marston was showing that chains could never hold back the strength or power of
femininity. Personally I always thought Marston was obsessed with bondage and must
have practiced it at home, especially with his unusual home life. But Lepore
could find no evidence of this, and several of Marston’s children expressly
denied it—saying their liberated “mothers” would never have stood for it. Marston
died in 1947, not dreaming of the longevity of his creation. Since that time,
Wonder Woman has indeed been the most successful and licensed super heroine in
history; taking her place in the DC Comics “trinity” of Superman, Batman and
Wonder Woman. The Secret History of Wonder Woman is extremely well researched
and written, and brings out many more details of Marston, his wives and
children, and the early adventures of Wonder Woman. Their story is full of
history, especially of the early feminist movement, and is interesting to all
audiences, not just comic book fans. Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Justified has been must-see television for six straight seasons.
And the main setting is Kentucky, a definite plus. U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens
takes his place with Matt Dillon, Andy Taylor, Steve McGarret and Andy Sipowicz
as one of TV’s most treasured lawmen. Always quality TV, the show never took a misstep.
The recent series finale was one of the best finales I’ve ever seen. There was
an Old West-style gun duel, getaways and captures, and a wonderful face-to-face
confrontation between Raylan and villain Boyd Crowder. Everyone’s
story was wrapped up beautifully and believably, and incredibly (slight
spoiler) no series regulars were killed. With as many bullets as were flying
around that show, that’s nearly impossible. In addition, the producers knew
when to wrap things up, when the show was still at its creative peak. Season 2
was best, with Margo Martindale’s Emmy-winning performance as Mags Bennett,
matriarch of a Harlan crime family. I’ll miss the show, but will follow closely
what the writers and producers do next.

Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

The Missing
(Starz)

This miniseries is one of the best of last year. A British couple and
their young son are on holiday in France. Their car breaks down in a small
provincial town, which forces them to spend a few days waiting for repairs.
When their son disappears from a town celebration, parents Tony (James Nesbitt)
and Emily (Frances O’Connor) Hughes tear up the town, and their lives, looking
for him.

What follows is the dissolution of a marriage and the destruction of
two likeable people trapped in a parent’s worst nightmare. Flashing back and
forth between present day and eight years ago, when the disappearance took
place, The Missing tells the story of
two people who wouldn’t give up the search for their missing son. Until one did,
and the other slid into the madness of obsession. James Nesbitt has become one
of my favorite actors, with an incredible range of characters. As Tony, he
lights up the screen with his highs, as he discovers a new lead or torn photo
that may be important. He makes the screen shudder with his lows as he is led
to one maddening dead end after another. He is assisted by the French police, mostly by a
French detective named Julien who specializes in finding missing children. Each
episode shows a bit more of the story of the disappearance eight years ago and
a present day lead Tony has found that may lead to the boy. There is so much
suspense built up by the final episode it’s almost as if a real child went
missing and viewers are going to learn his fate.

The Missing features a fascinating story, real characters and a tension factor of 10. Highly recommended, but be
warned; it will suck you in like few other shows. And the ending will shock you
to the core.

Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

The Honorable Woman (Sundance TV)

I
am amazed by any show that tackles Middle Eastern politics, while still making
them clear enough to understand and not getting bogged down or lost in them.

Maggie
Gyllenhall stars as Nessa Stein, the matriarch of a company supplying fiber
optic cable to Middle Eastern countries to get everyone connected to the web.
To get her construction contracts, she has to maneuver around endless
minefields and disparate agendas. She thinks she has everyone pegged and can
play the politics game, but has woefully underestimated both her competitors and her opponents. When
she and her interpreter are kidnapped and held by terrorists, she becomes
involved in a plot that will involve the entire Middle East, the United States
and spies from every nearby country.

The plot to this show is complex, but easy
to understand if you pay attention. It unfolds like an onion and viewers can
enjoy each delicious part. Gyllenhall is terrific as Nessa, a strong,
intelligent woman who just wants peace and understanding. The Honorable Woman shows just how challenging that is when you
deal with citizens, leaders and politicians who are all working for their own
political agendas. Excellent.

Rating: ***** out of 5 stars

The Comedians (FX)

On
The Comedians, Billy Crystal and
Josh Gad play, well, comedians who do a late-night comedy sketch show. The show
is based on the Swedish series Ulveson and Herngren. Both actors are playing versions of themselves, with
Crystal’s imaginary wife being portrayed by Dana Delany. That’s definitely who
I’d have playing my wife if I were making the show. If Charisma Carpenter were
busy.

Crystal plays the older “superstar” comedian, continually flummoxed by
Gad’s younger actor who also sings and dances. Gad constantly brags about being
in Frozen, “the biggest animated
movie of all time,” as Crystal rolls his eyes. They constantly find ways to
drive each other crazy.

The Comedians offers some laughs, and the actors are
totally game for mocking their own images and exaggerated quirks. But it really
isn’t enough. The jokes aren’t funny enough, nor the writing sharp enough, to
stand out from the crowd of mediocre comedies on TV. It’s good, just not great.

Being into history, the idea
of arranged marriages has always fascinated me. I’ve read that arranged
marriages throughout history have been successful around the same as love
matches; around 50% of the time. On the show, therapists match two people who
have never met and they get married, sight unseen, meeting at the altar as they
say “I do.” There have been two seasons so far, each featuring three separate
couples. They go on a honeymoon, then live together for six weeks. At the end
of that time, they decide if they want to stay married or get divorced. A real
divorce. In the first season, two out of the three couples stayed together, and
as far as I know are still married. This year three more couples tied the knot. The show is in the middle of its second season, so I’m not sure what the current couples will decide. Two of the three seem to be getting along fine.

It’s funny
to be a voyeur as the couples first meet at the altar. Two out of the six
couples so far have been repulsed by the other physically—that is the woman has
not been attracted to the man. All the women chosen have been extremely
attractive; the men have varied from male model to average. It’s also funny
that the two brides who weren’t attracted to the groom at first now have the
strongest relationships. They were forced to overlook the lack of attraction
because they were actually married, and it has resulted in getting to know the
person as a person, and because of that they have forged strong relationships.

The
three present couples are fascinating to watch. It looks like one couple will
be happy and make it, another has misfiring communications but seem to like
each other, and the last are two hot tempered people who can’t communicate and have
formed a genuine and healthy dislike for each other. The male in that couple
comes off as a real jerk. It’s hard to say for sure because at the end of the
day this is a reality show; which is to say nothing about it is real. Are the
producers editing the show for drama? Of course they are. Are they editing to
make “good guys” and “bad guys?” I don’t think so, but it’s hard to say for
sure. I believe the general premise and that the couples either stay together
or not, but who knows if their struggles and miscommunications are real or just
directed and edited by the producers? Still the journey, real or not, is
riveting television. Just don’t tell anyone I tune in though, okay?

Saturday, May 9, 2015

It’s weird to think Marvel Entertainment actually
controls the world. Reading comics all my life, I secretly longed for the day
when these characters would have universal recognition and appeal. That I
wouldn’t be the only one in my class/job/a room who knew who Captain America
was. It was a pipe dream, of course. Until it wasn’t.

Marvel really has done
the near impossible. The overwhelming output of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
is outstanding entertainment, made by people who love comics and want to get
the stories “right.” Avengers: The Age
of Ultron is no exception. Writer/director Joss Whedon is another life-long
comics lover. Although his online persona is that of an angry, bullying progressive,
I tend to enjoy his actual work. And he can still make a dynamic action film
that appeals to all audiences, despite their political persuasions.

Avengers: The
Age of Ultron is a truly epic movie. Somehow Whedon manages to balance plot,
wild action/battle sequences, a zillion characters and quiet moments of
characterization flawlessly in one two-hour spectacle. Is it bloated? A little.
Is it over the top? Yes, as a sequel to The
Avengers should be. Is it fun? Yes. Non-stop.

The comic book Vision

I’ll always be grateful to
Whedon for introducing one of my all-time favorite superhero characters, the
Vision, into the Marvel Cinematic canon. When I was a kid I could totally
relate to the Vision in the comics; an outsider, someone who felt he never
belonged. I always loved the fact that, despite being an artificial man, he eventually
gained acceptance from his peers, fell in love with and married the weirdo prom
queen and had a generally happy life. In the comics, the Vision is a totally
red-skinned android who wore a green body suit and yellow cape. Despite Marvel
Entertainment’s general acceptance of superheroes and costumes, I believed that
would never fly with a mass-audience, commercial movie. It was nice to be wrong
about that. Actor Paul Bettany makes the
Vision a bit less of a freak outsider than in the comics, but it’s close enough
that I’m calling it a home run. I loved seeing the character on screen and
being treated respectfully.

Paul Bettany as the movie Vision

The general plot is fun; it is astounding to see
Ultron; whom I’ve read about for over 40 years, right there on screen, brought
to scenery-chewing life by the great James Spader. Marvel didn’t spare a dime
on this movie, and the money is well spent on Ultron’s super-villain antics.
The superhero battles in this film come as close as I’ve ever seen to recreating
the massive skirmishes featured in the actual comics.

This is the last Marvel
film Joss Whedon will direct, at least for a while. I hope the next Avengers
director is someone who really “gets” superhero comics as Whedon does. He
throws in so many Easter eggs for longtime comics fans and has such a deft hand
with story and characterization, I’d hate to see things just go to a flavor-of-the-month
who has never cracked a comic (like the new Fantastic Four movie). However, after this many great movies, my tendency
is to trust Marvel Entertainment. Their movies are as good as their present
comics are bad. More power to them. I’ve seen Avengers: The Age of Ultron twice so far, and will probably see it
many more times on film and Blu-ray. I loved it.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

We nerds have been waiting impatiently for the new Netflix Marvel
shows—thirteen episodes each of Daredevil,
Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Hero for Hire and Iron
Fist to binge on. The first of these series, Daredevil, premiered on April 10. Due to being out of town, it took
me a few days to get though all thirteen episodes. Some thoughts:

The Good:

- The show is played straight, but
has a sense of humor. The dark, dark
themes are filled in by some appropriate humor that springs from the
characters, not campy jokes or out of place one-liners. - The cast. Charlie Cox
is wonderful as Matt Murdock/Daredevil, he springs right out of the comic book.
Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page is not only one of the world’s sexiest
actresses, but also gives an outstanding performance. The most welcome surprise
is Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson. I thought they might use Foggy as comedy
relief only (dances with lampshade on head, “Look at me, everybody! I have a
lampshade on my head! I’m a law school graduate who never grew up! Wheeeee!”).
They didn’t go that direction. Foggy was a nuanced character with a great sense
of humor and keen sense of morality. And of course Vincent D'Onofrio tore up
the screen as Wilson Fisk (playing villain the Kingpin, although never called that in
the show). Great writing and performing.

- The tone. Daredevil balanced
perfectly between a superhero, crime and action show, while still being its own
thing and something we’ve never seen before. Well done.

The So-So:

- The
plotting. Not much really happened regarding the main plot in thirteen episodes.
I realize they had a lot to do; introduce everyone, establish characters, make
the world safe for an actual costume, etc. But I’d like to see a few more
cameos from the Marvel Universe and a few more badass minions for Daredevil to
fight. There were a few and they were extremely well done. But I’d like to see
the show grow in personalities and characters, both hero and villain—they have
50 years of comics history from which to cherry pick ideas.

Rex Smith as Daredevil

- The costume. I
liked, but didn’t love the final costume. Cox’s first black costume
(reminisicent of Rex Smith’s Daredevil costume in the 1989 TV movie The Trial of the Incredible Hulk) was
used way too long. Nothing about it said “Daredevil.” When the more traditional
costume was unveiled, I’d say they got it about 80% right.

All-red Daredevil from the comics

First of all,
Daredevil’s costume in the comics, and the Ben Affleck movie, was 100% red. Why
is the TV costume red and black? The black isn’t necessary and goes back to the
fact that all live action designers dress heroes in black ninja crap. They’re
so afraid of color and sticking to the source material! The black parts aren’t
necessary, there is nothing wrong with adhering to the comics here.

TV Daredevil's "beak"

Also, they
gave the cowl a beak. I really hate that. Batman does have a kind of beak,
where the cowl sticks out to cover his nose. Daredevil doesn’t, and his
mask/cowl looks much better in the comics, or his first movie. I hope this
changes, as to me it makes the entire costume look weird. Not bad though, we’re
getting there!

A possible "no-beak" cowl look

The Bad: Nothing really bad about the show, just a few minor
nitpicks.

- Episode pacing. Between episodes five and seven or eight, some of
the episodes seem to drag a bit in the middle. Are the writers just getting the
pacing down? Would it be better to have ten episodes instead of thirteen?

- Sound effects. During fights, when characters strike each
other, it sounds like plastic fists dropping on bags of sand. Refer to the
Indiana Jones movies for some striking fist-to-jaw noises. Make it sound like
someone is throwing/taking a punch! I look forward to the second season (already renewed) to straighten out most of these nitpicks.

Overall, an extremely enjoyable experience.
I loved having one of my favorite comics characters being brought to the screen
with so much care and professionalism.